John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hi, I am in the midst of a control room build that has brought up some questions. But this post is not asking for advice specific to my room so much as it is to bounce an idea off the people here. As I was debating the placement and angle of the flush mount walls I am intending to build it struck me that I could think of no reason to lock them in place by securing them to the rest of the framing. If instead, I built them as a free standing system, similar to a gobo but with the speaker built in, I would retain the ability to adjust them for optimal placement and angle once the studio was all wired up. The designs put forward here mostly include gaps to allow for various bass trapping schemes so an airtight fit is not required. Obviously stability and mass are easier to achieve by tying in to existing framing but I feel like I can make a very heavy, very stable and yet still movable "wall" that nearly touches walls and ceiling but can be shifted after the build for best performance. It seems like ample bass trapping could be stuffed into the corners of the room as well as attached to the gobo/wall/stand thingy to get similar performance to a fixed soffit. I would probably have to do a little bit of finish work after landing on my ideal setup to get it to look its best but I am not seeing a downside to this concept.

Am I crazy?

Obviously stability and mass are easier to achieve by tying in to existing framing but I feel like I can make a very heavy, very stable and yet still movable "wall" that nearly touches walls and ceiling but can be shifted after the build for best performance.

That is the key.

Also, there is no reason you can't draw up your entire plan with SketchUp Make and do ray tracing to find out exactly what angles and sizes your soffits and wings need to be in order to achieve a true RFZ design.

I am not seeing a downside to this concept.

Would your walls be on wheels? How can you lock them exactly in place so that they never move a hair ever again? It seems like it could be more work and headache rather than sorting it all out in the digital realm using SketchUp, then just build it no differently than any other construction. Design, build it following the build plans, done.

Greg